The present invention relates to automated check in kiosks for use by clients to access health care related self-service options and more specifically to a system of kiosks where distinct subsets of self-service options are to be provided at different kiosks and where each system kiosk is aware of which options are to be provided at different kiosks and is capable of providing guidance for patients that attempt to perform an activity at incorrect kiosks.
In the health care industry profits are extremely important. As in most industries, one generally effective way to increase profits has been through growth such that many health care service providers have become, in effect, one stop shops for virtually all medical needs of patients. Thus, large service providers may have several hundreds or even thousands of physicians that specialize in different medical services and that work in many different medical facilities despite their common affiliation. In fact, some service providers are so large that they have complete campuses or even several separate campuses that each includes many buildings that house different health care specialty departments or clinics. Herein the term “enterprise” will be used to refer to service providers that have either geographically dispersed facilities or campuses (e.g., multiple campuses located at different locations about a metropolitan area), or multiple departments/clinics located in the same physical location. In some cases multiple departments or clinics are located in a large single building or in attached buildings.
Where departments are spaced apart within a facility or throughout a campus or at separate campuses, separate patient check in resources are typically located proximate each of the departments so that patients can check in for appointments proximate the locations at which their appointments are to occur. Historically medical facility check in resources have included receptionists that use check in terminals to register patients prior to appointments. Where a check in receptionist is provided, when a first patient arrives at a department to attend a previously scheduled appointment and a receptionist is not attending to another patient, the receptionist greets the first patient, obtains patient identifying information from the patient, confirms that the patient has an appointment at the department, may confirm or update insurance information, checks the patient in for the appointment and typically directs the patient to a waiting area associated with and proximate the department until a physician and/or other resources (e.g., equipment, examination or procedure rooms, etc.) required for the patient's appointment are available. In some cases patients may wait in a waiting area for an extended period (e.g., 30-45 minutes) prior to commencement of their appointment either because the patient arrived for the appointment well in advance of the time slot reserved for the appointment or because the physician and/or other resources required for their appointment are occupied longer than anticipated.
Another effective way to increase profits has been to use technology to increase efficiency and productivity whenever possible. Recently, as in other industries such as the air travel or hotel industries, technology has been applied to the check in process. To this end, check in kiosks have been developed that allow patients to self-check in for appointments, thereby alleviating or substantially reducing the need for receptionists at each department within a large facility. In some cases it has been contemplated that check in kiosks may be placed proximate a main entry into a medical facility or campus where, at the end of a check in process, the kiosk provides directions to a physician's office, department, or other location where a patient's appointment is to occur. In other cases it has been contemplated that patient check in kiosks may be placed at various locations throughout a provider facility or campus. The placement and distribution of kiosks within or across an organization is a matter of implementation, and the invention contemplates countless variations; the primary requirement is that the locations exist and a record of relative location to each other and to the services provided exists.
When a patient arrives at a check in kiosk to check in, the patient provides patient identifying information via the kiosk. After the patient is identified, patient appointments are presented to the patient, the patient selects appointments to check in for and is then checked in for the appointments. At the end of the check in process the kiosk instructs the patient to wait in a waiting area until called for the appointment.
While check in kiosks have reduced the need for receptionist services, in some cases patient check in kiosks can result in patient confusion and missed or delayed appointments. For instance, where kiosks are placed at main facility or campus entries, a patient may check in and then, despite receiving directions to an appointment location via the kiosk, may lose his way or be delayed along his way to an appointment location and thus may be late for the appointment. Patient confusion and delay is particularly likely in the case of large facilities and/or campuses where there may be long and circuitous travel paths between entry points and appointment locations.
As another instance, in any case where each kiosk in a facility or on a campus can be used to check in appointments for multiple departments, a patient may end up waiting for an appointment in a wrong waiting area (i.e., a waiting area that is remote from a location at which the appointment is to take place). Where a patient checks in using a kiosk that is remote from the department where the patient's appointment is to take place, even in cases where directions are presented to the patient that instruct the patient to travel to a different part of a facility/campus to attend the appointment, the patient may assume that the patient is to wait in the waiting area proximate the kiosk used to check in and hence may wait in the wrong waiting area and completely miss his appointment. In this regard, in the past, where receptionists have been stationed proximate each department in a large facility to check patients in, it was normal to wait in the waiting area adjacent the check in location (i.e., adjacent the check in receptionist) and therefore, it would be natural for a patient to assume that the patient should wait in the waiting area adjacent to a kiosk used to check in. In addition, while waiting for their appointment in the wrong waiting area, the patient may naturally assume that any delay in being called for his appointment is attributable to routine resource overbooking and therefore may not question a delay until after the patient's appointment time has come and gone. Missed and delayed appointments frustrate patients and service providers and waste valuable health care resources.